Tour The Top-Secret Town Where Atomic Bomb Parts Were Made During World War II

In 1942, the U.S. government snapped up more than 60,000 acres of land in eastern Tennessee as part of the Manhattan Project.

The area, called Oak Ridge, was already home to about 3,000 people. But for the next seven years, the town remained top-secret while thousands of federal workers developed materials for the atomic bomb. Residents were required to wear badges when outside their homes and armed guards were staked at all the city's entrances.